Save the Best for Last

A few lines of not so poetic words to end this year is still allowed, isn't it? :D

if I do firmly believe to hold a trust to 
something true

but the place has not been already set 
and the kin has not been selected,

linger.

my serenity deserves the fine-primed most exquisite endless story
that the princesses will all dance when the moment 
is in time

just like that, my tranquility will cost your attention about my strength.

for me, it is somewhat called wonder. 

{ circa 07

Every thing happens for a reason. May be you don't see the reason now, but when it is finally revealed, it will blow you away with happiness. ~Hamid

Witnessing sunset with friends in April 2010. Photographed by her.

Kaleidoscope @2010

This is the third Kaleidoscope post I write in my blogging activity. Wow, it's been 2,5 years I have grown up together with this weblog.. with all the ups and downs I've shared. There are so many stories have been written here. It's funny and slightly touching as well when I review back all this year's posts. Compared to two previous years, the total amount of 2010 postings is much lesser, but honestly.. they have much more meanings however. I can't assume that I've made big change in my life to recognize in this year, but in some extent, I dare to say that I've learned a lot of new things and it somehow got me maturer than before.

Jan.

The theme for this month is New year, New project. Our team at the office finally started conducting a strategic research which I was completely blind with it since it was totally new for me. So there we were, busy collecting data from site, visiting them one by one. And it was conducted for almost six months ahead. Oh another more important point I've found was that Jakarta's traffic got even worseeeeee! But anyway, I love January for the entertaining work trip held by the office in Bandung, we went to great places there during our free time! :)

Feb.

The office sent me to two cities in a row in a month, the first one is to Palembang and a week later to Semarang. I basically have no problems with traveling, but one thing I hate about going to another cities ALONE is when I have to trust strangers. We can't easily believe a kind person just for granted,  think of what's that person's interest, because sometimes they have trap, yeah scary I must say.

Mar.

I just happened to find that March was the month with the most confusing thoughts, I can't clearly remember what was the first simultaneity for the anxiousness I felt. Has anyone ever suffered from quarter life crisis syndrome? Passion, career, love life. lol. Complicated.

Apr.

Rejected to accept the new challenge from a chance to boost my career by shifting to banking industry didn't make me blue, I was blackout instead, even though I've reached the last interview with the supposed-to-be future BOD. I thank God for letting me stand still at where I am now. Always trust that all those decisions taken were the best for me. I won't hesitate to say that my effort to reconcile with the long lost relationship with an old friend was the best thing I've ever fought for. Never knew that it would be this so much life-changing, dear you. Thank you for bringing that secure feeling in to my personal level. I owe you :)

May.

I was assigned as one of the Master of Ceremony for the Top 10 Architect Award by the office, again! :D So my days were filled with rehearsals (though this was my second experience being a mic girl). After the event had successfully done, my friends and I had a trip to Bali and it was very hilarious, I love!

Jun.

How does it feel to have friends that are still willing to stay with you, no matter how imperfect you are, giving you the warmest encouragement in heart to support you to be a better person? to whom you could always back to, every time you want, every time you need. Blessed. Alhamdulillah :)

Jul.

The strategic research project began on January was finally done this month, so my manager and I went to KL to have the research result presented in front of our clients. Oh no, they were the country directors from all of their office representatives in Southeast Asia, but thanks God, you made this easy for me. When I came back, our company's country director put the word Senior in front of my current position, I wondered: isn't it too early? By the way, this was actually a great time that I could say bon voyage! to the depressing hectic days working with that project, but deep inside I felt so shallow that I seem to not moving anywhere, so that I  thought that I need a big momentum to turn the point. But a super nice sister then told me something that I won't forget. Thank you! :)

My darling, your prayer is all the forward moving force you require and Allah will take care of the rest, Inshallah:) May all your dua be accepted and may Allah be pleased with you Mustika. 

~Blue Pearl 

Aug.

Another trip to the lovely Yogyakarta I heart so much. I was so happy to be sent by the office this time because I could have another chance to speak in front of the public. I also had a chance to visit my childhood-bestfriend who lived there.  

Sep.

This year's ramadhan was the best I could ever strive throughout my life. Hope that I can be much much better in the Ramadhan next year and next year after and after and after. InsyaAllah. Jazakallah khayran ya Allah for letting me in back to You, for strengthening my relationship with You, for all the bless you've overwhelmed me with.

Oct.

My younger brother went abroad to pursue his Master Degree. Days before he left we had a little argue for an unimportant thing. Yes it sounded really childish, but it somehow changed how I feel about our relationship. Aren't we already adults now? Or this is just me not recognizing it. We are adults now and sure, we are not the same person as in our childhood anymore. Also before he left, he texted me to take care of myself. You know I will, for I know that you always think of my best. Thank you.

Nov.

The company raised me again! twice in a year, wow. One of the senior researchers has resigned in September, so there was no other choice, my manager pointed me to replace that position. And it seems like a joke you know, imagining how you could be in a senior level and become a team supervisor when you actually have been working only for two years there. So that was why I went to Makassar, to recruit some local researchers for our next future branch office there. Another pick point, I turned 24! Aaaaaa.

Dec.

And here we goo, to the last but not least month. December. Hmm. A month that consumes me so much to take out wisdom wisely from all the things that happened, both the good and the bad.  And for all of that, I never felt this convinced, even when I decide to leave an old story of two young people who seem to will never be able to be responsible for what they both feel to each other. The most sincere thing I learn  from the long road experience we've taken during this trip is that  go forward and never look back. Always fill yourself with new spirit as often as you can.

Here comes the 2011! I am ready to embrace more happiness, forgiveness and blessings! InsyaAllah :)

2010 Best Blogs Award : The Voting

Starting today, the 2010 Sister Who Blog award has started. Please don't forget to vote sister! :)

And surprisingly, my blog can also be voted in the general blog category there. Oh I am a bit shocked. Months ago, when I wanted to participate, I never thought that Amber Misk would really count my blog in as a nominee, I also didn't think of winning though. 

Sisterwhoblog network has been such a treasured discovery to me this year, not only for the life of blogging, but also the real life one. The sisters and their writings had taught me about  how to face our world being a girl, muslima, hijabi, mother, student in this university of life, etc. And that's been A LOT. So I thank dear Amber Misk for making this network happened to all of us (you are amazing, Amber, you have given all of the best efforts in initiating to create the network and working on this award) and here I also want to express my sincere gratitude to God for bringing this awesomeness into my life. :)

For me, this award is not like any other competition, because I don't feel like competing with another sister to be proved and labeled as the best. This network was made to unify all the sisters who blog from all over the world in a connection, therefore I hope this award could also strengthen its very noble intentions to  give the best way to make friends and let the members inspire and support each other. I must say that the nominees are all the best. Thank you Sisters. :)

The voting will take place until Friday, December 31, and the winners will be announced on January1, 2011. So please stay tune, guys! :D

Revealing Weirdness

Whoa, two of the nicest ladies here have officially tagged me to do the this post. Thank you Blue Pearl and Ria! :) It's been long time I've never done the tagging kind of post, but it seems very intriguing now because, you know, I am a weirdo, so listing them down will be a bit tricky because I need to be careful, unless I will end up writing all my weirdness! And that will turn the post out to be the longest one. :p

In no particular order, here we go I tell you my weirdness:

#1 I start reading the newspapers from the backside and then finally come to the headline in the front page. I can't explain the reasons why I behave this way, I guess, it's because that I would like to know all the light news before end up with the headline news which usually needs more focus and concentration. Does this reason make any sense? :P

#2 I love wearing bright colours, even in my fine and formal attire. Shocking Pink. Yellow. Orange. Purple. My friends said that I hurt their eyes. lol!

#3 I have a weird eating habit. And this is a long story then. I am an anti-carbo eater and it already happens for more than 4 years. I am not really into rice (which is the main dish here in Indonesia). Too much salt, sugar, and cooking oil in my food will directly make me dizzy. So do you want to know what I take for my menu in a daily basis? boiled vegetables with red chili sauce, peanut spice, tomato ketchup, etc. But despite that disorder, I don't have any exception in eating side dishes, I still eat fish, fried chicken, beef -only when it's cooked dry with chili dressing like dendeng balado or simmered in spices and coconut milk like rendang. Oh yes I am a Padangnese, but food with so much spices doesn't make me so happy since it caused headache. Hehe. Many people asked me how could I stand living with no carbo? oh worry not, I love yogurt and cassava tapai and have them everyday as my breakfast.

#4 I don't drink beverage too much. I like to drink plain water only. While other colleagues at the office can drink 3-4 cups of tea or coffee a day, I just take mineral water, and for the whole day I drink for almost 4 litres! :D

#5 I could easily sleep everywhere. In front of my computer in the office (only when I already feel too tired, oh work could suck you up right?), in the bus, in the train even when I am standing and just holding to the the handle (I am a sub-urban commuter, two hours for a single trip from the office back to home  are sure a valuable time to take a little rest, right?;p). I could even easily fall asleep when I am in the middle of the crowd sitting and talking with friends, blame the comfy sofa, the blowing wind, the cool air-conditioner in the car, etc. lol. Sorry guys, my sleepiness can pop out all of sudden even in the inappropriate places.

#6 Rain always makes me down. But I love it anyway. Inhaling the scent of the soaked land after rainfall is just like there's a new strength or energy flowing in my lungs. 

#7 When I am sad and feeling blue, I go to sleep. It gives a little help that somehow the sadness I previously feel.. evaporated. In another way, running when I feel something wrong is also a good thing I can do to release my unpleasant feeling. Running here means literally running. Run, run, run.

#8 I am a cardio junkie. I think I am addicted! haha

Anyway, here are some reasons why cardio is so important :)

   *It's one way to burn calories and help you lose weight
   *It makes your heart strong so that it doesn't have to work as hard to pump blood
   *It increases your lung capacity
   *It helps reduce risk of heart attack, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes
   *It makes you feel good
   *It helps you sleep better
   *It helps reduce stress

Let me think of another.. hmmm. forget! hehehe. Will add if I remember more weirdness here. So what do you think? Am I weird enough? :P

Work Faith Balance

Monday's coming and it means that working routine for the next five days will hang up above me. And most of all of us. Happy Monday, everyone! I hope we are all already refreshed after this long weekend and ready to combat again! :) 

 "Bismillah. When working, remember! If your intentions are sincere and you’re doing your deed for the sake of Allah, you'll stay like a root strongly planted in the ground... A tree withstands thunder rain snow, Why? Cause the root is firm to keep the tree upright... For the sake of Allah we do our deeds... May allah keep our intentions pure and light up our good deeds with wisdom and outstanding character, ameen.

Patience is virtue. Don't lose it. Prove it."

~ipoet - admin for working muslim.

Working Muslim is built by a team of successful working professionals who have experience of working for multi national companies, for high profile government organisations and a veriety of other employees. The aims of Working Muslim are to support and champion working Muslim women with all the issues that they face. Check out its facebook profile here.

Adorable Blueberry Girl

I can't say much but I am writing this post because I want you all to know this four years old cute hijabi fashionista, Blueberry Girl! She not only loves fashion (yes.. she has a very classy taste of fashion), but she also loves reading. And don't be so surprised, she's really good as a blogger. Having these all kinds of talent in her age.. is just so extraordinaire! Subhanallah.

She even is an expert in making that green spinach snails! Oh I hope someday I would have a chance to sit with her in a tea party or maybe a breakfast together? :) and I would love to say bon appetit! then.

Please take a look at her blog and subscribe her youtube account. This girl is Super Gorgeous! You'll love her in a second!

Those Old Times

Last Saturday my bestfriends and I gathered again in a nice restaurant which aesthetically ornamented in a traditional Javanese way. I didn't know why the december girl picked this one in the first place, but I thought we all now become very creative in selecting new nice places for gathering, don't we?:) As in last year, the December girl invited us to have dinner also in a themed restaurant. Hwaa, I actually miss the word "conspiracy", just like the old times, when we always felt that our lives are 'sophisticated' enough to make other (enemy?) feels 'treated'. LOL. 

I always enjoyed having girl's day out with this bunch of unbelievable guys, in whom I could be the original version of me without feeling afraid to be judged. :) 

Here are some snapshots from the luncheon, I felt so exposed to the afternoon's strong winds here, which was a bit worrying since wind always makes me sleepy! :D 

The last picture was actually choreographed, the bottles on the table were arranged as decoration (no we didn't drink them), but the amused expression on our faces were genuinely true. I never feel that we are all 24 years old here, thank you buds, all the things we've spent in that afternoon from light chit-chats, teary laughs until never-ending substantial discussion about dreams and future made me feel always young, just like those old times in university, I almost thought that we were 17 still. :D Isn't it great to have distinctive people as your bestfriends? What, distinctive? What a weird diction, they will sue me! lol

Another superb girl who didn't join us here once said that, dream is never for future. If it is. It never comes. 

01.01.11

I really can't wait for 1st of January 2011 to come as the first part of  mega series "Fitan of the Ummah" launched by The Islamic Emirate will be released and exclusively available for download. I don't really understand with the word exclusive here, but only by seeing the official trailer.. I know that this series would be very great!

This series will persuade us to learn about the untold epic tales of Islamic History which manifest the bright light of Iman emanating from the Greatest of Generations, even through the toughest of conflicts. The breakout of civil war engulfing the Arabian Peninsula, from the Apostate Assault on Madina, to the toxic spread of False Prophets, to the Assasination of Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, to the Civil War between the Sahabah, and beyond, will be discussed here. It will also mention many of past trials and tribulations faced by the Ummah. The aim of sharing lessons from the past is that we may improve the condition of the Ummah, and return it to it's former glory. 

I. Hardly. Can't. Wait.

Evoking Reminiscence

Had to inspect a renovation house of an aunt in the morning and went out for a lunch with my mother then, just the two of us. :)

Eating out with family members always reminds me to our old activity in my childhood, when my late father was still here with us, that is. Papa papa I really miss miss you. Miss those precious times of me becoming a little princess of your own, and it never felt like a make-believe story, Daddy, it was real, enjoyable memories. ;')

And now I am curios to know.. what's your beautiful memory from the past, guys?

Beyond the Sea

I am so excited to know that some of my best friends are in the preparation process of their wedding day! :) I'll pray that Allah will ease and bring all the good things to follow your good intention of completing half of your deen, dear. Amin

And..it's weekend again, lovelies! Well, we still have another two weeks insyaAllah to greet the coming of another new year's beginning. Second after second that keeps on clicking makes me afraid even more than I used to, realizing that we are getting older and that somehow our time is getting nearer and closer to an certain unending end. ;'( Hopefully we are included in the group of people who always wisely use time doing good things and make benefit to other people.

Anyway, this post's title is actually a lovely song I love to listen during hectic working hours these days.

Money Never Sleeps

Has just watching DVDs I have bought yesterday. It's a weird way to learn about financial service and stock business, I know. But we are allowed to pass through any short-cut available, yes? :p

image source: #1, #2

Retail Therapy

Life at work has became more hell-ish than I could recognize. I mean, everybody sighed and moaned about the loads they couldn't even take. I know, I know, that's one of the consequences when a company is trying to getting bigger and bigger, so we the machine guys who turn the wheels of capitalisation (oh did I just write that word?I hate that) to make it works should be put in a faster running system.  I take this as simply as that. Since it's already took my life away during the weekdays, I insist of pulling it aside in my valuable weekend times. You can't agree more with what I mean, no work papers from the office on weekends, yes? 

Just like any other weekend, I mostly spent my days with my family, my mother. And today I accompanied her to do a little window shopping :) Look how the colour of these beautiful things has made my day, though I didn't buy any of them (my last journey has sucked up my savings, hehe).

 

And finally, I ended up buying DVDs, again.

Eat. Pray. Run

Last week, starting from December 2 until 7, my friends and I had a backpacking trip to three countries in Southeast Asia; Singapore, Cambodia and Malaysia. Overall, the trip was planned like this:. Jakarta - Singapore : December 2 morning, Singapore - Johor Bahru - Melacca - Kuala Lumpur:  December 3 afternoon by bus (on the road only). Kuala Lumpur - Phnom Penh: December 4 at the dawn, Phnom Penh - Siem Reap: December 4 afternoon by bus, Siem Reap - Phnom Penh: December 6 morning by bus, Phnom Penh - Kuala Lumpur: December 6 night, Kuala Lumpur - Jakarta: December 7 night. And alhamdulillah, everything went good based on our planning. :) As we've reckoned before, we ran so much, almost everywhere. Run girls run! :p

Walking down the street in Tumasik Island :) . December 3, 2010.

My partners at Royal Palace's inner courtyard, Phnom Penh. December 4, 2010

Main Building @Royal Palace, Phnom Penh. December 4, 2010

Royal Palace, Phnom Penh. December 4, 2010

Phnom Penh - Siem Reap journey by bus approximately 6 hours. December 4, 2010

Angkor Wat, Siem Reap. December 5, 2010

Inside the Angkor Wat temple. December 5, 2010

Bayon temple, Angkor Thom City. December 5, 2010 

Ta Prom temple, Angkor Thom City. December 5, 2010

Preah Khan temple. December 5, 2010

Preah Khan temple. December 5, 2010

Our guesthouse @Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur. December 7, 2010

Petronas Twin Tower, Kuala Lumpur. December 7, 2010

Moorish architecture-Masjid Jamek, Near Dataran Merdeka - Kuala Lumpur. December 7, 2010.

Though it is not the first time I visit Singapore and Malaysia, this journey gave much more different impression since we've faced some difficulties in the making :) Thank you my friends, even though the trip passed by really fast, it definitely taught me many things.

You might wonder what we did in the bus (because we got so many buses during the trip), well, I actually tried to contemplate about life and how it will go on later, but not so long after, I felt asleep. Hehe

Anyway, this sentence popped up back and forth in my mind,

"If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it is yours. If it doesn't, it never was ..."

I've ever read the same with this in her blog, hi Fenty! :)

The Packing Philosophy

Warmest regards, everybody! I have just came back from a long leave from the office to have a traveling with tough and brave girl friends of mine. This is one of the lessons learned from the trip.

When we will be traveling in a trip for a specified length of time, we have to prepare all of the things we need in a package, either it is a suitcase or a backpack; big or small. But an important note that can't be ignored is that we just can't bring everything we have or like, and all travelers know that we should get rid of the things we won't need because they will complicate us during the trip. Since it must sticks out with us so that we have to bring them everywhere we go, carrying a big bag with unnecessary things inside may not sound alright anymore, especially when we use public transportation, which could be very crowded any time.

How much and what we bring in our packing will be varied depending on the time we go traveling and the situation of our travel destination; on how long that the trip will take and where it will be ended, therefore we could write down the packing list right. Here in the packing process, we seriously need to decide what are the most essential things we really really need during the travels. 

And so is the life. 

Let's imagine that our life is a journey, where we should significantly know the destination so that we already aware of what kind of things we need to do in order to prepare the most righteous and comfortable way to reach the final point of this life's destination.

And just like the saying goes that.. if you won't need it, don't take it. So, use your valuable lifetime to do distinguish things, because you're only given one shot! Happy life trippin', people :)